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Bell Telephone introduces the touch-tone telephone to customers in Pennsylvania

A push-button telephone is a telephone that has buttons or keys for dialing a telephone number, in contrast to a rotary dial used in earlier telephones. Western Electric experimented as early as 1941...

A push-button telephone is a telephone that has buttons or keys for dialing a telephone number, in contrast to a rotary dial used in earlier telephones.

Western Electric experimented as early as 1941 with methods of using mechanically activated reeds to produce two tones for each of the ten digits and by the late 1940s such technology was field-tested in a No. 5 Crossbar switching system in Pennsylvania. The technology at that time proved unreliable and it was not until after the invention of the transistor that push-button technology became practical. The Bell System selected Findlay, Ohio as the first city in the U.S. for marketing tests of touch-tone service and Ohio Bell began installing push-button telephones in Findlay homes starting on 1 November 1960.

Historical Significance

A push-button telephone is a telephone that has buttons or keys for dialing a telephone number, in contrast to a rotary dial used in earlier telephones.

Events Before

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  2. John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth aboard Friendship 7

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  3. Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points, the most ever by an NBA player in a single game, in the Warriors

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  4. Five research groups announce the discovery of antimatter

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  5. Stan Musial scores his 1,869th run, setting a new National League record

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Events After

  1. First government report by US Surgeon General Luther Terry warning that smoking may be hazardous

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  2. American MLB baseball player Pete Rose (22) weds first wife Karolyn Englehardt; divorce in 1980

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  4. First appearance of the Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show", live from New York; broadcast draws 73.7 million television v

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  5. Billy Rose and Joyce Mathews divorce again

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Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on November 18, 1963?
A push-button telephone is a telephone that has buttons or keys for dialing a telephone number, in contrast to a rotary dial used in earlier telephones. Western Electric experimented as early as 1941 with methods of using mechanically activated reeds to produce two tones for each of the ten digits and by the late 1940s such technology was field-tested in a No. 5 Crossbar switching system in Pennsylvania.
Why is Bell Telephone introduces the touch-tone telephone to customers in Pennsylvania significant?
A push-button telephone is a telephone that has buttons or keys for dialing a telephone number, in contrast to a rotary dial used in earlier telephones.

Explore More

November 18 in HistoryYear 1963